The Cairo Saga, Book 4: Operation Chindit
by JA Baker
Summary: Condemned as a traitor and a murderer, Steven Cairo is sentenced to death by those he fought so hard to save. His only chance to clear his name is a suicidal mission deep into Word of Blake territory…
1. Give and Take

**_The Cairo Saga, book 4: Operation Chindit  
_Part 1: Give and Take**

_Sigfried Glacier Reserve  
__Evirons, Tharkad City  
__Tharkad  
__District of Donegal, Lyran Alliance_

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here, Davion." Cairo didn't even look round as he tossed the lure into the air. There was a blur of movement as the young hawk grabbed it from the air and wheeled of into the clear blue sky, crying out loudly.

"Just thought I'd pop in before I headed out to the space-port." The Precenter Martail shrugged, "See if you'd changed your mind."

"I think you've been hanging round in the Combine too long if you think I'm going to fall on my sword." Cairo held up his hand and the hawk settled on the gauntlet, "Not for you, not for anyone."

"There are more important things than your personal honor..."

"I thought I was stripped of my honor when the Judge Advocate General took my rank and regiment away from me. Treason kind of grabs people's attention. I'm told I have half a dozen offers for my life story."

"I take it you've not agreed to any?"

"I don't even know what the hell it is I've been charged with: no one's telling me a damn thing! All I know is that if I try and leave the grounds I'll be killed by the MP's with the sniper-rifles."

"I'm sorry, you should have been told: there's been an enquiry into your mission to Hesperus II."

"That would explain why only those who took part in the mission have been arrested, but not why."

"It appears Archer Christifori has suffered some kind of mental breakdown on Donegal. The doctors and physiatrist say it has something to do with his time as a prisoner of Word of Blake. They think that the attempted to brainwash him into acting as a sleeper agent."

"I take it that it didn't work?"

"No: Christifori's sense of duty stopped him from doing anything to help Word of Blake, but there have been questions raised as to how he was to be used."

"I don't quit follow."

"There are those who believe his escape from Hesperus was arranged to get him back to us where he could do the most damage. Once that idea had surfaced, people started looking into the means of his escape, and those that where involved."

"They can't possibly believe that I had anything to do with some insane conspiracy theory like that?"

"There are those who will believe anything, and you have made more than a few enemies yourself: your continued disregard for authority and the chain of command has done little to endear you to the Lyran military establishment."

"And that little coup I stopped in Costa Mesa..."

"...was perpetrated by a die-hard faction within the Lyran military who wanted my sister back on the throne. Word of Blake merely took advantage of the situation."

"And the fact that I thwarted the attempt? What do the conspiracy theorists have to say about that?"

"They tend to play that down, but the fact remains that they have enough pull with the JAG to get you charged with treason and held over for trial. You will most likely face a full Court Marshal, and if you are found guilty, most likely executed."

"Surly you can stop this?"

"Steven, the war has stressed the Alliance to braking point: factions that where fighting just a few years ago during my war with my sister must now trust each other. If we are to maintain anything approaching a stable defense we must allow a little give-and-take."

"And if the 'give' part is my life; so be it?"

"We are all ultimately expendable Colonel, even me. I will not put the Alliance under any more stress, not so soon after we won a narrow victory."

"Yean mean the Clan Wolf relief force?"

"Yes, that was quit good timing, if a little unfortunate in its origin."

"Yeah, what did happen? No one seems to know just what really happened."

"It appears that Khan Vladimir Ward of Clan Wolf believed that he could use the Word of Blake attack on Arc Royal as cover for a sneak attack on Clan Wolf-in-Exile. Not trusting it to any of his commanders, he personally led a mission to strike at the Command and Control center. He was spotted, and Khan Phelan Kell personally led the counter-attack. The two of them ended up engaging in personal combat that lasted for some time. In the end, Khan Ward's Mech was disabled, and Khan Kell called for him to stand down."

"From what little I know of Vladimir Ward, I doubt he did."

"In deed: it appears he set his Mech's reactor to overload. The resulting explosion destroyed both Mech's, killing both Khan's. In all the confusion, asKhan Ranna Kerensky stepped in and summed control of both Clans, reunifying them. It was she who sent the relief force here."

"I'm sorry for your loss: I know you and Khan Phelan Kell where close."

"Indeed, but you can no doubt see why I can not interfere with your forthcoming Court Marshal."

"This is about Thor's Gap: you told me that my stubbiness would someday get me into trouble."

"Despite what you may think, I don't hold a personal grudge against you: this is a hole you've dug all on your own."

"Just remember one thing Precenter Martail Davion, sir: when this is all over, and the dust has settled, I'll remember this conversation."

"Is that a threat?"

"If I wanted to threaten you, you'd know it. No, this is a warning, the same warning I gave Clearwater: I will not forget this, and neither will you."

"We shall see." Davion turned and walked away, "I personally hope you get off, but like I said: I can't interfere."

Cairo pulled a small radio from his pocket as he headed back to the house, "It went just as you said it would."

"Victor is too predictable." Simon Clearwater laughed over the link, "He doesn't realize just who he's playing against."

"So what's going to happen next?"

"The verdict of the Court Marshal has already been decided: guilty. They will give you a showy trial, but they'll shoot you at the end."

"You have a plan?"

"I always have a plan Steven. The only question is: are you willing to trust me?"

"That remains to be seen..."

_To Be Continued..._


	2. Wheels within wheels

_**The Cairo Saga, book 4: Operation Chindit**  
_**Part 2: Wheels within wheels**

_Sigfried Glacier Reserve  
__Evirons, Tharkad City  
__Tharkad  
__District of Donegal, Lyran Alliance_

"_I will go, I will go  
__When the fighting is over  
Tae the land o' MacLeod  
That I left to be a soldier  
I will go, I will go_."

A drunken voice echoed along the long corridors, distracting Cairo from what little paperwork he still had. Grumbling under his breath, but secretly grateful for the distraction, he got to his feet and walked to the door.

"**KNOCK IT OFF!**" He yelled in the general direction of the singing, "You're not even confined to quarters: go and annoy someone else you crazy bastard!"

"Sorry sir!" Captain Sharpe called back, his already thick Scots burr rendered almost unintelligibly by drink, "But we gott'a stick together!"

"Just cut-out the singing!" Cairo slammed the office door loud enough to rattle nearby ornaments: he didn't like being so hard on those under his commanded: the Irregulars had lost a third of their combat strength fighting for the Lyran capital, and those left where shell-shocked and weary. They all deserved the chance to let their hair down a little, but events where conspiring against them.

Just two days after the Military Police had arrested Cairo and the survivors of the Hesperus II mission, word had come through that Star Colonel Jake Kabrinski and his Ghost Bears had been recalled. They left, taking with them the bulk of the combat ready troops. Cairo had sent the Smoke Jaguars taken bondsman on Tukayyid with them: he could live without the constant bickering between them and the rest of the regiment.

The only thing he'd found amusing was the look on Precenter Martail Davion's face when he told an emissary from the newly reunified Clan Wolf that they could have the _Nature's Wrath_ back. Although still not full repaired after its clash with the Word of Blake _McKenna_ only three months before, it was still a potent weapon that the head of ComStar's military had been hoping to redeploy in the Inner Sphere.

Finding new and intriguing ways to annoy his superior was one of Cairo's few hobbies, and he enjoyed it immensely.

"O.K., Brunnen danken Ihnen für versuchenden General. Auf Wiedersehen." Sinead walked in a side door with a cellular phone in her hand, "That was Spendlove: he's called in every favor he has, and a few he hasn't, but he can't help." She sat down on a chair near the desk, "Was that Ian singing?"

"Yeah: drunk as a Lord." Cairo slumped back down into his own seat, "One of these days he's going to push his luck too far and I'm going to bust him down to cadet..."

"Rather you than me."

"Why do you say that?"

"Jesus Steven; are you the only one who doesn't know?"

"Know what?"

"He's a Death Commando."

"**WHAT!**"

"I thought you knew? It's in his file if you look."

"I never saw that." Cairo typed a rapid string of command into his computer, "It says he was an AFCC officer who was visiting family on New Caledonia when the fighting started..."

"Look closer." Sinead walked round the desk and looked over her husbands' shoulder, "It says that he was Capellan Special Forces."

"You wouldn't think of it to look at him." Cairo sighed, rubbing the right side of his face.

"Stop that!" Sinead swatted the hand away, "You know what the doctor said: if the inflammation doesn't go down, they can't put your new eye in."

"Bloody bone-shakers." Cairo muttered, wishing the constant itching would go away, "Don't know why their even bothering to grow a replacement: the JAG's going to put me up against a wall and have me shot."

"Simon will come up with something."

"He claims that he has, but he'll only discus it face to face."

"So? He'll be here in two days."

"I'm in court in three: if he doesn't come up with something good, I'm dead."

"You're too negative."

"What have I got to be positive about? In the past 6-years I've lost my parents, my sister, my home, my best friend, my home world, found out that a guy I thought I'd killed is still alive, and then lost another good friend."

"So you don't consider me or the kids a good thing?"

"Don't look at me like that: you know I love the three of you more than anything, but I can't help but feel a little guilty about how it all came about."

"You feel guilty about everything."

"I'm a Catholic: it comes naturally to me. Anyway, who's your little meeting go?"

"I've never under stood why they call it a 'civil' court when it's anything but civil."

"Things still not getting on with your mother I take it?"

"The psycho bitch-queen of the universe? No: she's trying to have the kids taken away from us, claiming we're unfit parents." Sinead sat on the desk, "Think Leroux would drop a NAC round through her house if I asked nicely?"

"Possibly." Cairo shrugged, "Don't worry: Rix and Xander have orders to shoot first and ask questions later if anyone should try anything with Jane and Paul." He smiled, "And you owe me 10 C-Bills: a little bird tells me two of our subordinates spent last night together."

"I should have frigging known." Sinead laughed, "Still, I expected Sara to put off telling Kerry how she felt. I think they'll be good for each other."

"I hope so." Cairo's phone rang, "Cairo. Ok, tell him I'll be right down." He dropped the hand set back into the receiver, "The JAG's here and his staff are here."

"We'd better go get this over with." Sinead got to her feet and led the way down to the reception room.

A staff officer in dress uniform was waiting for them, along with someone Cairo had never expected to see again.

"Hello Steven: surprised to see me?" Élan Frasier asked, her new Kommandant's uniform neatly pressed, "I've been assigned to handle the prosecution."

**To Be Continued...**


	3. New solutions to old problems

**The Cairo Saga, book 4: Operation Chindit   
Part 3: New solutions to old problems**

_Sigfried Glacier Reserve   
__Evirons, Tharkad City   
__Tharkad   
__District of Donegal, Lyran Alliance_

"Hello Élan." Cairo looked at the woman he had once called his best friend, "Forgive me if I don't look surprised, but I've had too many shocks already today."

"You always had a sharp wit Steven: be careful you don't cut yourself." Fraser smiled, "Like I said, I have been chosen to handle to prosecution at your Court Marshal. You will need to select an officer to act in your defence..."

"I'll take that job." A voice came from the doorway, making everyone look round, "I've done it before."

"Clearwater!" Cairo looked at the ComStar agent, "What the hell are you doing here already?"

"Saving your life." The Spymaster smiled, stepping forward, "The case is illegal: High Treason only applies to Lyran nationals, and Colonel Cairo is not. After he gave up his Los Alamos nationality, ComStar arranged for him to become a citizen of the Free Rasalhague Republic. As they have recently been absorbed by Clan Ghost Bear, he is under their jurisdiction."

"I'm what?" Cairo asked.

"A citizen of the Ghost Bear Domain." Clearwater smiled, "Now leave me and the General here to discus matter is quite will you?"

* * *

The long corridor in the north wall gave unprecedented views of the Glassier, and Sinead found it relaxing to just stand and look at the wilderness.

"Hell Sinead, it has been to long since we last saw each other." A voice interrupted her contemplation and froze her blood colder then the icy wastes outside.

"You..." Sinead slowly turned and found herself face to face with Star Commander Marcus, the Clan Wolf MechWarrior who had taken her captive on Constance seven year before, "W-what are you doing here?"

"I am here as part of the relief force sent by Kahn Ranna Kerensky. I had thought that it was a sign of disgrace, but when I saw you were also here..." Marcus took a stop forward, "I thought that we could relive old times."

"You stay away from me you bastard!" Sinead pulled her laser pistol from its holster and levelled at the Clan warrior, "Don't you even THINK about touching me!"

"I see you language has still not improved, despite the beatings I gave you. I still fondly remember the sound you made when you begged me to stop, and the way you cried when I took you to my bed..."

The echoing sound of gunfire filled the corridor, and Star Commander Marcus fell to his knees, his eyes looking at Sinead accusingly as blood started to poor from the corner of his mouth.

Another gunshot dropped him to the ground, dead.

"And the hoarse you road in on too." Cairo stood behind the dead man, his revolver still smoking in his had. He took half a step forward and fired the last round into the head body, "Sick son-of-a-bitch."

"Steven." Sinead collapsed into him arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"It's ok, it's ok; he's not going to hurt anyone ever again." Cairo held her tightly, and then looked round when he heard the sound of running feet heading their way, "You'd better get out of here before anyone finds us."

"I'm not going to let you take the blame for this..."

"I killed him, and I'd gladly do it again." Cairo smiled, "You know I'd never let anyone hurt you."

"I know." Sinead nodded.

"Then hide." Cairo pushed her into a side door just moments before half a dozen armed Military Police arrived.

"What happened here?" The officer commanding the party asked.

"You blind or something?" Cairo asked over his shoulder, dropping his empty revolver to the floor, "I killed him."

"Ok, put your hands behind your head and walk backwards towards us." The young officer sounded scared, "Nice and slow."

"Yeah, I know the drill kid: my dad was a cop." Cairo sighed.

* * *

"You have a disturbing talent for getting yourself into trouble." Clearwater looked at Cairo as he was escorted into a small office by two MP's, "Any idea why?"

"None, other than it annoys you." Cairo smiled as the guards undid his restraints and left the room, "So how did your meeting wit the JAG go?"

"Quite interesting; you're not going to be charged with High Treason, just premeditated murder." Clearwater sat down on the desk, "But as it carries the same death sentence, and you admitted the crime, they'll hang you."

"Why do I feel you have something else in mind?"

"You know me all to well." Clearwater pulled a credit-card sized object from his pocket and placed it on the desk, "No monitoring system within five-meters will work as long as that it activated."

"Nice; it's smaller than the one Davion had."

"Yes, well, Victor acutely believes that his can block one of my bugs, where as this one stops everything."

"This must be important."

"What I am about to tell you is one of the most closely guarded secrets ComStar has. If Word of Blake was ever to learn it, it could turn the tide of this war back in their favour." Clearwater rested his hands on the desk, "There is a secret automated leistering post hidden on the planet Pluto in the Sol system, codenamed Station-X. It picks up all electro magnetic activity in the system and transmits it using a system similar to the Black Box devices used by the Lyran and Davion military's. Six mouths ago Station-X went dark, and we have no idea why. We need someone to go there and fix it."

"Someone with nothing to lose? Someone already facing the death penalty?"

"Exactly."

"It's not going to be easy. I'll need a ship..."

"You'll have the _Spirit Sight_, as well as a DropShip and a pair of shuttles to make the landing. After you have completed your mission, you are to make your way to the nearest friendly world, striking at any targets of opportunity you see fit." Clearwater smiled, "If I where you, I'd get as far away from the Lyran Alliance as you can. You're all so publicly condemned as an outlaw for the duration of the mission: you'll be in as much danger from your own side as the enemy."

"Situation normal then." Cairo mused, "What about my people?"

"The DropShip is loaded with a Lance of BattleMechs equipped with the C3i system. You can pick any three other warriors to join you..."

"Sinade, Rebecca and Kerry."

"You seem sure of your choice."

"I trust Sinade more than anyone else in the universe, I owe it to Rob Dancer to look after his wife, and Kerry, she wouldn't last long in a line unit."

"May I ask a question?"

"Can I stop you?"

"True." Clearwater chuckled, "Why did you kill Star Commander Marcus?"

"You've read Sinade's file no doubt, and you know her past and connection to Sebastian Cain?"

"I have, and what he tried to do."

"Star Commander Marcus succeeded where Cain failed. It was a long time before she could tell me about what happened to her while she was a bondswoman, and there was no way I'd let that son-of-a-batch live."

"I understand." Clearwater stood, "Be ready to make your daring escape in two days, and good luck."

**TBC...**


	4. Exit Strategies

**The Cairo Saga, book 4: Operation Chindit  
Part 4: Exit Strategies**

_Tharkad City  
__Tharkad  
__District of Donegal  
__Lyran Alliance_

The VTOL cruised low over the city, Cairo sitting between a pair of MP's who could have passed as Elementals. Someone at the JAG office, most likely Élan Fraser, had insisted that he be escorted everywhere. And given that he was going to the spaceport, it was understandable that they where a little tetchy.

Smoke still hung low over the city after the last Word of Blake forces on the planet had made a suicide run on the Triad the day before. Cairo had watched it on TV, and had smiled every time a W.o.B Mech went down. He was epically happy that the unit credited with the last kill was the newly formed 1st ComStar Dragoons.

Patrick Clearwater had formed the new regiments out of the remnants of the 278th Division and the surviving members of the new disbanded Solaris Irregulars. It tore at Cairo's heart to know that the unit he had formed had been officially stricken from the ComGuards roles, their colours retired.

But the fighting in Costa Mesa, along with the recall of the Ghost Bears, had reduced the regiment to a little over a company of battle ready Mech's and pilots. The much needed DropShips and Warships had been reassigned to other units and combat zones. Cairo couldn't help but think that Davion was attempting to appease the Lyran Generals by scattering his people to the four winds.

The VTOL circled low over the spaceport before coming in to land next to a DropShip painted with the crest of Clan Ghost Bear. Two imposing figures stood at attention in front of the ship, standing guard over Sinade and their two children.

"Rix, Xander." Cairo nodded to the two Elementals as he approached, "I can not stress how much trust and faith I am placing in the two of you with this mission: these are my children. I care more about their safety than anything else in the universe. If anyone, and I mean anyone, tries to hurt them or take them, I want to two of you to shot first and leave the questions for someone who cares."

"We understand, sir." Rix nodded, "We will guard them with our lives."

"I want you to guard them with the lives of any son-of-a-bitch who tries to hurt them!" Cairo smiled, "Good luck old friend." He stepped past the Elementals and lifted his young daughter up into his arms, "Hey pumpkin."

"Why do we have to go away?" She asked, confused, "What did we do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong." Cairo reassured her, "But it's not safe for you to stay here: some bad people want to hurt mummy and me, and they'd hurt you to get to us."

"Make them go away!"

"I will, but I need to know you're safe while I do. It's going to be a long time before we can see you again, so you have to look after your little brother. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

"Good girl." Cairo kissed her on her forehead, and then moved to where Sinade held his son and looked down at the sleeping baby, "Will I ever get to see my kids grow up?"

"One day, when this is over." Sinade smiled sadly, "But it's the life we chose for ourselves."

"Yeah, true." Cairo nodded, kissing his son before they handed their children over to the two Elementals and watched as they disappeared into the DropShip.

"You ready?" Cairo asked his wife.

"No, but let's get it over with." She sighed, and they turned back to face the guards, "Sorry guys, but this is not your day."

The two guards looked confused for a moment, but there was a blur of movement, and they collapsed onto the ground. A man dressed in black stood behind them, holding a high-powered stun gun in each hand.

More similarly dressed men appeared and dragged the two guards out of the way while Cairo and Sinade sprinted along the landing field until they came to a line of _Leopard_-class DropShips. Cairo started checking their names until he came to one marked _Wildfire_.

"This is the one!" Cairo sprinted for the hatch and reached it just as the first alarms started going off.

"Time to move, sir!" Kerry Slone was waiting for them as they jumped through the hatch and closed it behind them, "This way!"

The MechWarrior led the way to the small passenger lounge and the waiting acceleration couches. Cairo raised an eyebrow when he saw Sara Bradley already strapped in, but the DropShip started to move, knocking him into his own seat.

The _Wildfire_ accelerated along the runway with its engines at maximum, pinning everyone into their seats as the G-forces grew. It lurched to one side as it took fire from a fixed weapons emplacement, but it clawed its way into the air, burring hard for orbit.

"Hey guys, this is your Captain speaking." A voice came over the PA system, "You might want to remain strapped in: we've got some fighter on our six, and they are giving out some serious negative waves if you know what I mean. But have no fear: Serv is here!"

"What the hell have I gotten myself into this time?" Cairo mutter under his breathe as the DropShip rolled and twisted in an attempt to shake the fighters. He managed to activate the small view screen built into the arm of his chair and selected a feed from the camera in the ship's nose.

A huge Warship filled the screen as the pilot curved around it to avoid a flight of missiles fired by the pursuing fighters. The room shook violently as the main-drive was cut, forcing the fighters to overshoot the mark.

Cairo was almost thrown from his chair as the smaller interplanetary drive in the bottom of the DropShip fired, sending them off at right angles to their previous heading.

"I think we lost them. Hey, and we're on coarse to meet up with the _Spirit Sight_! Groovy." The pilot sounded slightly deranged, "Fell free to leave your seat and use the restroom as needed. Our in-flight movie today is the classic _Immortal Warrior 19: On the IlKhan's Secret Service_. Headphone will be availably from the cabin crew shortly."

"Remind me to shot Clearwater next time I see him." Cairo closed his eyes and lay back in his seat.

**TBC…**


	5. Renegades

**The Cairo Saga, book 4: Operation Chindit  
Part 5: Renegades**

_CNS _Spirit Sight  
_Pirate jump-point  
__Tharkad system  
__District of Donegal  
__Lyran Alliance_

Cairo had just made it through the docking hatch when a klaxon sounded twice, alerting everyone of an imminent hyperspace jump. He grabbed the nearest handrail for support and closed his eyes as space and time distorted.

* * *

_ComStar Compound  
__Tharkad City  
__Tharkad  
__District of Donegal  
__Lyran Alliance_

"Something I can help you with, Precenter Martail?" Clearwater didn't even look up as an enraged Victor Davion pushed his way through the door into the office he had appropriated, "Or is this a social call?"

"He's escaped!" Davion slammed his fists down on the desk.

"Who: Santa Claws?"

"Steven Cairo: he escaped during transport to his Court Marshal. At the same time, an ExplorerCorps DropShip blasted through the CAP and ran hell-for-leather past to warships in orbit to what is believed to be a pirate-point. The same pirate-point, in fact, that the Solaris Irregulars used to arrive here."

"I always said that man was resourceful."

"Yes, so resourceful that he was able to change the patrol schedule so that the CNS _Spirit Sight_ was at the pirate-point the same time the DropShip arrived. We have yet to make contact with the _Spirit Sight _and find out what is going on."

"Sounds like you have a busy day ahead of you then, Precenter Martail. Don't let me keep you."

"Stop playing games Simon…"

"Silence." Clearwater didn't raise his voice at all, but Davion stopped mid sentence. The Precenter ROM narrowed his eyes, "Your predecessor chose you because he felt that you were just the person ComStar needed. This is true. You were once First Prince of the Federated Commonwealth, the largest empire man has ever known, and as such you know about the necessary evils of leadership. You are an experienced General in the field, and as such you know about he necessities of war."

"I…"

"I didn't give you permission to speak." Clearwater shot Davion a glance that could have melted steal, "But you have no real training or experience with intelligence or counter-intelligence operations. I have recently put a plan into motion that may shorten this war exponentially. If it succeeds, that is."

"Are you saying that you planed this?"

"I am saying that I have recently put a plan into motion that may shorten this war exponentially. I am Precenter ROM: I handle intelligence, counter- intelligence and internal security for ComStar. You are Precenter Martail: your job is to protect and defend ComStar and our allies and protectorates through force of arms as needs be. Our methods differ, but in the end, our goals are the same."

"Cairo and those under his command will be declared outlaws, their ship as rouge. Any coalition forces that encounter them will be ordered to fire on sight. No one will offer them safe haven or support. They are cut off from society, outcasts, bandits, and mutineers. They will be hunted down and brought to justice."

"Steven Cairo has survived the better part of a decade of travel and fighting throughout known space by having the devils own luck, making more than a few friends along the way. He will surprise you."

"Be very careful of the games you chose t play against me Simon: I'm a very fast learner."

"I have been playing these 'games' since before you were born, and I always play for keeps. The fact that I am still alive is testament to how good I am at them. If you want to take this to the next level, and pit ROM and the ComsGuard against each other, then so be it. But I have neither the time nor inclination to pull my punches: you want a war, I'll give you one like you've never seen."

"I will not play into Word of Blake's hands by splitting ComStar."

"Neither will I. Is there anything else?"

"No, but the orders will still go out: Steven Cairo is renegade, and will be treated as such."

"As you wish, Precenter Martail. As you wish…"

* * *

_CNS_ Spirit Sight  
_Interstellar space  
__District of Donegal  
__Lyran Alliance_

Cairo's head span as the Warship reappeared in normal space, having left the Lyran capital world far behind. He felt his stomach lurch violently, and he had to restrain the urge to vomit as his body extracted the toll for faster-than-light travel.

"Man that was fun!" A joyful voice came from behind Cairo, "Let's do it again!"

"Are you crazy?" Cairo turned and got his first good look at his new DropShip pilot: the man stood a little under two meters tall, and had the willowy build of a long-term spacer. His face and head was covered in a thick layer of rust-red hair that framed a pair of wild eyes and a tooth filled mouth sat at a permanent grin. He war a set of tattered overalls and an old leather bomber jacket that looked like it had seen better days. A Nakajama laser pistol hung in a holster low down on his left hip. Cairo raised an eyebrow, "Commander Serv Augusta, I presume?"

"Hey, just call me Serv: everyone dose." The man offered his hand, and Cairo shook it, deciding he was going to like the pilot Clearwater had found him. "So, we're we headed?"

"That's still classified: only myself, Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux and Precenter Clearwater know." Cairo turned and headed for the bridge, "But it's sure to be a fun ride."

The Corvettes bride was its usual hive of activity; dispute the fact that they were deep in interstellar space, light-years away from anything bigger than a spec of dust.

"Officer on deck." Star-Commodore Leroux came to attention as Cairo drifted through the hatch, followed by an inquisitive Serv, "We are ready to perform our next jump, sir."

"Very good." Cairo grabbed a headset from an empty workstation, "Give my ship-wide, including the _Wildfire_."

Leroux flipped a switch and a buzzer sounded throughout the two ships, calling everyone to attention.

"All crew: attention to orders." Cairo's voice sounded throughout the Warship, "As you are all no doubt aware, we have completed our first hyperspace jump, and have left the _Tharkad_ system far behind. You all volunteered for this mission because you understand that extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. I regret that I am still not at liberty to tell you the true nature of our mission, but I can tell you that, if successful, it will have far-reaching consequences."

"We will be traversing silent with no outgoing communications what so ever. By now we will have been declared reneged, and our former allies will have orders to shot us on sight. Only by succeeding will we clear our names, but failure will result in our names forever been branded as traitors who deserted our post at time of war."

"We will be fighting a gorilla campaign far behind enemy lines, using tactics and weapons that we would normally never even consider. You may have already heard rumours that we are carrying a large number of Alamo anti-ship nuclear-missiles and Siva anti-ship nuclear-mines. These are both true: we have orders to use them against targets of opportunity after we have completed our main assignment. That is all." Cairo cut the link.

"Our next destination?" Leroux asked.

"Second star to the right and strait on till mourning…"

**TBC…**


	6. First Strike

**The Cairo Saga, book 4: Operation Chindit  
Part 6: First Strike**

_CNS _Spirit Sight  
_Zenith jump-point  
__Un-named system  
__Isle of Skye  
__Lyran Alliance_

"Why is the boss in such a bad mood?" Bradley asked over a table in the small mess hall, "He's been snapping at people all day."

"It was that unplanned hyperspace jump last night." Sinade blushed, "It caught us at an unfortunate moment."

"Coitus interruptus?" Slone asked; her eyebrow raised suggestively.

"In a big way. Add to that he gets jump-sick if he doesn't have time to prepare." Sinade shuddered, "I swear to god that nothing could shock me right now."

"I am two months pregnant." Rebecca sipped her fruit juice, ". It is Roberts and I am keeping it."

"What!" Sinade blinked, shocked by what her best friend had just said, "How?"

"As someone who has two children of her own, you should be at least somewhat aware of how procreation works. Even Trueborn understand the mechanics of it." Rebecca replied sarcastically, "I stopped taking my contraceptive pill after he proposed to me on the way out from Callisto-V: I knew that he wanted to have a family and as a freebirth I have no problem with the concept. I realised I was expecting the day before he was killed. Although we were never officially married, I have taken his name and intend for our child to carry it as well. If it is a boy, I will name it in his honour."

"Well, congratulations." Sinade nodded slowly, "You do realise that we don't have a doctor onboard who's qualified to deliver a baby?"

"Humans have been reproducing successfully for over a million years." Rebecca pointed out, "I am confidant that the two of us can get through this with the proper planning."

"Wait a minuet." Sinade gulped, "What do you mean by 'the two of us'?"

"I think she wants you as her birthing coach." Bradley smiled, "I think it's a good idea: you have been through it twice already…"

Any reply was cut of by the sound of alarms calling everyone to action stations.

* * *

"What we got this time?" Cairo sailed through the bridges clamshell doors just moments before they closed.

"Incoming EM signatures." Star-Commodore Leroux called up a star-map on the main holo-tank, "Looks like at lest two JumpShips in the 175,000-ton range. Best estimate is a pair of fully loaded _Invaders_."

"Any hope that they are friendly?" Cairo asked hopefully

"Neg: there are no reports of any resistance units this far into Word of Blake territory having access to JumpShips." The old Nova Cat pilot shook his head "I have ordered weapons hot."

"I take it there is no way we can jump out?"

"Again, Neg: we need at least 36 more hours to recharge our Lithium-Fusion batteries. Our unexpected escape from that _Eagle_ last night used up all our energy."

"Yeah, about that…" Cairo started, but was interrupted by one of the crewmembers.

"First JumpShip entering system!" The tech at sensor station reported, "Target confirmed as _Invader_ class JumpShip. IFF reads as Word of Blake transport _Strength of Conviction_. Target confirmed as hostile."

"Stravag!" Leroux hissed, "Weapons free: fire as they bare. Helm; bring us in on a course that will put us between the two ships when the second one appears from hyperspace. Air-Boss: I want all fighters in the air and raining fire 30-seconds ago!"

The bridge descended into what could best be described as organised chaos as the crew hurried to fulfil their captain's orders. Cairo drifted over to the main view screen just in time to see the second JumpShip appear.

A sphere of brilliant white light appeared out of nowhere, churning with unimaginable energy. It grew until it looked like it was going to sallow the entire system, and then disappeared in a flash. Cairo blinked, trying to get rid of the after-image and saw the needle-thin shape of a JumpShip.

"Second target confirmed as _Invader_ class JumpShip." The sensor tech reported above the din, "IFF reads as Word of Blake transport _Unending Sermon_. Target two is confirmed as hostile."

"Time to weapons range?" Leroux asked no one in particular.

"60-seconds to optimal firing range." The fire-control officer reported, "We are in range for forward Naval Lasers."

"Port laser track _Strength of Conviction_. Starboard laser to track _Unending Sermon_. Target engines only."

"Target lock confirmed. Firing port and starboard lasers!"

Beams of emerald energy flashed between the accelerating Corvette and the stationery JumpShip's, slicing through the transports minimal armor like a hot knife through butter. One beam connected with _Union_ class DropShip, and the transport stopped the assault with its own armor.

"In range for forward-arc class-10 Naval Autocannons!" The fire-control officer yelled over the din of whaling alarms and klaxons, "20-seconds to optimum range on main gun."

"Set the 10's to fire on the DropShips as they bare." Leroux was crouched over the holo-tank, "Prepare main gun to fire: one round per JumpShip."

"NAC/10's locking on DropShip. Main gun loaded and preparing to fire!"

The _Spirit Sight _shook twice as her light NAC's fired at the scattering DropShips. The Union that had been hit by the lasers exploded when one round found the weakened armor and ripped right through, detonating the ships fuel tanks. The blast snapped the back of the _Strength of Conviction_, destroying its Kearny/Fuchida hyperdrive by shattering the delicate germanium/titanium core.

The huge NAC/40 in the _Spirit Sight's_ nose swung round to face the second transport. The Warship shook violently as the cannon fired, its high-explosive shell covering the distance to the _Unending Sermon_ to quickly for the JumpShip to react.

The round struck the doomed transport just forward of the engineering section, blasting the station keeping drive still furled solar-sail clear of the doomed ship. The damage set off secondary explosions that perpetuated along the length of the ship, finally culminating in the destruction of the command module at the nose.

"Survivors?" Cairo asked, his mouth dry.

"We are reading two DropShips still under power." Leroux looked at one of the side-screens, "A _Union_ and a _Gazelle_: both sending out distress signals."

"Are there any inhabitable planetoids in this system?"

"Neg."

"Options."

"We can not take on that many prisoners: we have no way to guard them, and even if we did, we lack the supplies to support them. We could drop them off at a nearby planet, Skye is within range, but that would breach our standing orders. The only alternative is…"

"Very well." Cairo nodded, turning pale as he moved towards the hatch, "Do what you must."

"I will." Leroux nodded solemnly, "Fire control, lock lasers onto the _Gazelle_: firing-point procedure for all available weapons."

* * *

Cairo found himself standing in the doorway to the ships mess hall, looking like death warmed up. He could see everyone looking at him, wondering what had happened during the short and rather one-sided battle.

"What happened?" Sinade was the first to pluck up the courage to ask directly.

"We ran into a pair of Word of Blake transports." Cairo replied, unable to meet her gaze, "There were no survivors."

**TBC…**


	7. Shanty man

**The Cairo Saga, book 4: Operation Chindit  
Part 7: Shanty-man**

_CNS _Spirit Sight  
_Nadir jump-point  
__Un-named system  
__Isle of Skye  
__Lyran Alliance_

"All I'm saying is I would have requested another MechWarrior if I had known she was pregnant." Cairo had his hands in his pockets as he made his way along the Warships corridors, "This is not the sort of place where it is safe to bring a new life into the universe."

"Don't be such a hypocrite!" Sinade punched him on the arm, "Jane was born on this ship, and that worked out all right."

"Yeah, well things are different now…" Cairo stopped mid sentence, "Can you hear singing?"

"Yes." His wife nodded, leading the way down the corridor to one of the crew dormitories: several crewmembers were sitting around Serv, who was playing a beat up old guitar.

"_What do we do with a drunken sailor?  
__What do we do with a drunken sailor?  
__What do we do with a drunken sailor?  
__Early in the morning?_"

He looked round when he saw the other two entered, "Hey sir, just having a little sing along."

"A what?" Cairo asked.

"It is called a Shanty song." Star-Commodore Leroux was stood against one wall, "They were sung over a thousand years ago, when men still sailed the sea's of Terra on wooden ships powered by the wind. The songs were used to help keep time during important duties like raising the sails of lifting the anchor. Times have past, but still the tradition remains, even among the Clans: Sailors have always been superstitious, even to this day, and it is considered good luck to have a Shanty Man onboard."

"Really?" Cairo asked, then held out his hand towards Serv's guitar, "May I?"

"Sure man." The DropShip pilot handed it over, "Knock yourself out."

Cairo tuned the guitar carefully, and then started to play. Some of the crew apparently knew the words, because they joined in at the appropriate time.

"There were two lofty ships from old England came,  
_Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we,  
_One was the _Prince of Luther_, and the other _Prince of Wales_,  
_Cruising down along the coast of the High Barbaree._

'Aloft there, aloft!' our jolly boatswain cries,  
_Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we,  
_'Look ahead, look astern, look aweather and alee,'  
_Look down along the coast of the High Barbaree._

There's nought upon the stern, there's nought upon the lee,  
_Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;  
_But there's a lofty ship to windward, and she's sailing fast and free,  
_Sailing down along the coast of the High Barbaree._

'Oh, hail her, Oh, hail her,' our gallant captain cried,  
_Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;  
_'Are you a man-o'-war or a privateer,' said he.  
_Cruising down along the coast of the High Barbaree._

'Oh, I am not a man-o'-war nor privateer,' said he,  
_Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;  
_'But I'm a salt-sea pirate a-looking for my fee.'  
_Cruising down the coast of the High Barbaree._

Oh, 'twas broadside to broadside a long time we lay,  
_Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;  
_Until the _Prince of Luther_ shot the pirate's masts away,  
_ruising down along the coast of the High Barbaree._

'Oh, quarter, Oh, quarter,' those pirates then did cry,  
_Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;  
_But the quarter that we gave them - we sunk them in the sea,  
_Coming down along the coast of the High Barbaree._"

"Very strange." Cairo looked at Leroux, "You use contractions when singing. Is that not the sign of a lazy mind?"

"Some may see it like that." The Nova Cat officer nodded, "But like I said, sailors are superstitious: we would never change the lyrics of a song like that. If you do not mind me asking, where did you learn that song?"

"You may ask." Cairo turned and walked away, "But I reserve the right not to answer."

**TBC…**


	8. Boarding Party

**The Cairo Saga, book 4: Operation Chindit  
Part 8: Boarding Party**

_CNS _Spirit Sight  
_Zenith jump-point  
__Un-named system  
__Dieron Military District  
__Draconis Combine_

Space shimmered as the Nova Cat warship jumped into the un-named system that was next on their list of possible waypoint on its way to the Sol system. Cairo felt his head swim as the shock of yet another hyperspace jump took its toll on him: the doctors had tried every medication they knew of to try and combat his jump-sickness, but nothing seemed to work.

"All stations report status." Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux commanded from his seat in the middle of the corvettes small bridge, "Scan for contacts."

"Why do I put myself through this every time?" Cairo asked, "Maybe I should have the doctor sedate me before the next jump?"

"And risk dereliction of duty?" Leroux asked with a glint of mischief in his eye, "That would not be the Steven Cairo I know."

"Yeah, well…" Cairo shrugged, but was cut off by a call of alarm from one of the sensor techs.

"Targets baring Green-45!" The young woman reported, "High probability of at least one unknown own Warship!"

"Go active on all sensors!" Leroux ordered, "They would have to be either blind or fools to miss arrival, so there is no point trying to hide."

"Receiving IFF signal from target #1." The weapons officer reported, looking up at the screen above his station, "IFF reads as the _Dante_ class Frigate CS _Bordeaux_."

"Designate target #1 as friendly." Leroux turned to face the holo-tank, "What of target #2?"

"IFF of target #2 reads as _Essex_ class Destroyer W.o.B _Deliverance_. Target two confirmed as hostile."

"Stravag!" Leroux hissed, "We have jumped into the middle of a slugging match between two ships that out mass us, and we do not have the power to jump out again! What is the condition of _Bordeaux_ and the _Deliverance_?"

"Both ships have suffered heavy damage, and there is wreckage consistent with several assault DropShips in the area." The sensor officer reported, "It looks like the _Deliverance_ has been disabled, but there are several Battle Taxies attached to the side of the _Bordeaux_."

"Coms, see if you can pick up any internal communications." Leroux looked at the holo-tank, "Helm, take us in. Sound general quarts throughout the ship."

"Intercept course plotted and set." The young woman at the helm reported, "Powering up intersystem drive."

Everyone on the command deck felt themselves' being pushed to the floor as the _Spirit Sight_ started to accelerate.

"Sir, I am picking up intermittent communications from inside the _Bordeaux_." The communications officer reported, "Word of Blake commandoes have breached the hull in several places. It appears that the hyperdrive on the _Deliverance_ has been destroyed, and they intend to capture the _Bordeaux_. There is something else…" The man pressed his earphones tight against his head, "The crew of the _Bordeaux_ are putting up stiff resistance. It appears that they are trying to defend someone: they keep saying 'is she safe?' That is all I can make out, sir."

"Helm, bring us in behind the _Bordeaux_: we don't want the Blakist's to know we are here just yet." Leroux ordered.

"Coming up to turnaround point." The helmswoman warned as a deep tone sounded over the PA system, "Stand by for zero-G."

Cairo checked his harness as the dull roar of the powerful interplanetary engines died. He felt himself thrown forward violently as ship stopped accelerating. A handful of unsecured items started to float about the room as the _Spirit Sight_ flipped over through 180-degrees, pointing its blunt nose the way it had come.

The interplanetary engines kicked back in, and Cairo felt the air driven from his lungs as he was slammed back into his seat by some invisible hand.

"What the hell are we going to do?" He yelled out over the deep throbbing of the drive.

"The _Bordeaux_ is too badly damaged to make a hyperspace jump." Leroux shouted over the short distance between them, "And if there is someone of such importance onboard, we should rescue them."

"I agree." Cairo nodded, "I will lead the boarding party myself."

"What if something happens to you?"

"You know as much about our mission as I do. If I die, tell Sinade everything, and carry on to the objective: only three people know the whole story, and it is important that we complete what we set out to do. If we fail, none of us can ever go home."

"You just make sure you come back in one piece!"

"I always do."

The engines died again as the _Spirit Sight_ succeeded in killing its forward velocity completely. The thrusts fired, stabilising its position alongside the larger Frigate. The _Bordeaux_ hung in space, looking like it had been but through a meat grinder: entire sections were open to vacuum where the armor plating had been blasted to scrap by the _Deliverance_.

"Have the marines meet me in the main airlock, full battle load: I want every warm body we have." Cairo undid the straps holding him down and kicked off towards the hatch, "This had better be worth it…"

* * *

The corridor leading to the _Spirit Sight's_ main airlock was full of men and woman in Elemental Battle Armor that had been specially adjusted to operate in space: the shoulder mounted disposable missile packs had been removed and replaced with thrusters packs that allowed them to move freely under their own power. 

Mixed among them were the elite ComGuards commandoes Clearwater had provided for the mission. They were dressed in modified EVA suits that gave them grater freedom of movement than the Clan warriors, but they lacked the heavy armor and weaponry.

Cairo nodded to them as he stripped down to his t-shirt and short before sliding into his own spacesuit. He tried to remember the limited zero gravity training her had been given during the long weeks of transit time from distant Tharkad.

"We all set?" He asked over the encrypted communications system as he checked the seals on the suit of the man next to him.

"Aff, Colonel, we are ready!" Star Commander Quinn, the senior Elemental reported. The huge mountain of a man was big, even by Elemental standards, and had been dubbed 'The Mighty Quinn' by Serv and the crew of the _Wilde Fire_.

"Ok, here is the plan: we split into two teams. Team One is Star Commander Quinn and his Elementals will do their best to help the crew of the _Bordeaux_ hold of the Blakist's." Cairo explained, "Team Two, Major Akuma and his people, along with myself, will find out just who it is the crew of the _Bordeaux_ are fighting so hard to protect, and bring them back to the _Spirit Sight_. Once that is done, we will engage in a fighting withdrawal, then get the hell out of here before the Blakist's try and take this ship as well."

"Ready when you are, sir." Major Willow Akuma nodded. Despite her name and Asian appearance, the young commando was a native of the now defunct Free Rasalhague Republic and spoke with a slight Scandinavian accent.

"Then let's get this over with." Cairo lifted his Magshot gauss rifle as the airlock door slid open.

The Elementals and Marines filed into the airlock and connected the lifelines that would keep their units together. Cairo was connected to Major Akuma and her command unit, and took a moment to study the faces of the people he'd be going into combat with.

Although he'd been trained in infantry and small arms combat, he'd fallen out of practise after he graduated as a MechWarrior. Like most people in his profession, he had a slight distain for ground ponders: they were below his contempt, unworthy of his attention. More than one MechWarrior had paid for such an attitude with their life when they came up against infantry who'd been trained in anti-armor tactics.

The air was quickly pumped out of the airlock, and the massive out door opened on infinity, the dark shape of the _Bordeaux_ in the distance. Major Akuma was the first out of the airlock, kicking away from the _Spirit Sight_, launching her self into space with the ease of a well-trained professional. Cairo felt himself drift out the airlock as he was pulled along by the commando's momentum.

Quinn's elementals were not far behind, using their thrusters to glide effortlessly across the void.

Akuma flipped over mid transit, bending her legs to absorb the shock of impact when she hit the hull of the _Bordeaux_. She automatically activated the magnetic clamps in the bottom of her boots, gripping the Frigates metal skin tightly. Cairo reached out for a handhold like a drowning man grabbing at a life raft, realising that he didn't like being in space with just an EVA suit to protect him.

**TBC…**

_Is there a reason why no one is reviewing this story?_


	9. Close Quarter Combat

**The Cairo Saga, book 4: Operation Chindit  
Part 9: Close Quarter Combat**

_CS _Bordeaux  
_Zenith jump-point  
__Un-named system  
__Dieron Military District  
__Draconis Combine_

"There should be an airlock 20-meters towards the bow." Major Akuma reported as she stood on the hull of the warship like it was the most natural thing in the world, "We should be able to override it from the outside."

All Cairo could do was nod as he did his best to keep his balance: the 175kg Magshot rifle strapped across his chest had his centre of balance out of alignment. He knew that if it was not for the exoskeleton built into his suit that he would never be able to even lift the formidable weapon.

As it was, carrying it was a risk: the weapon was notorious for over-penetration, sometimes hitting who or what ever was behind the intended target. Better suited for close range were there Stetta auto-pistol strapped to each hip. The weapons fired 1mm magnesium darts from a magazine of 100 rounds. He had started carrying the weapon after his truly ancient revolver had developed a crack in the barrel. Due to the simplicity of the design, it was impossible to fix or replace the damaged part.

Cairo still had the weapon, refusing to get rid of it: it was the same gun his father had carried when he had been a police officer on far-away Los Alamos, and it carried great sentimental value. Cairo also carried his curve-bladed Kukri, another family heirloom that supposedly dated back to one of his ancestors who had been a mercenary in the Inner Sphere before moving to Los Alamos to be with a man she had fallen in love with.

There was no evidence that the story was true, but Cairo carefully maintained the blade, sharpening it each day as instructed by his grandfather. The only problem was the tradition associated with the Kukri: once brawn, it could not be returned to its scabbard without having first drawn blood.

The network of small scars on Cairo's forearms were mute whitens to his adherence to this particular tradition.

"Here we are." Akuma's voice snapped Cairo back to reality, and he was surprised to find that he had made it to the airlock without vomiting.

One of the commandos pressed the 'open' command on the keypad next to the door, but it refused to move. Akuma stepped forward and typed in the override code she had retrieved from the _Spirit Sights_ computer before setting out.

The hatch lurched, then opened half way before the power gave out.

"Ok, one at a time, stay sharp!" Akuma ordered as she pulled herself through the half-open portal, gyro-jet pistol in hand. The others followed one-by-one until they were all thought. The low intensity emergency lightning cast more shadows then it dispelled, so the commandos activated the UV lamps attached to their helmets.

Beams of invisible light pierced the darkness, allowing the night vision equipment attached to the ComStar suits to see as clear as a summers day.

"Someone try and close the inner hatch." Akuma ordered once everyone was inside; "I don't want to depressurise any more of this ship if it can be avoided."

One of the team pulled the thick hatch closed, turning the manual hatch lock until it locked with a click.

"This corridor looks sound." He said as he studied the readout, "We should be able to use it as an airlock."

"Ok, from here on in I want complete radio silence: hand signals only." Akuma looked back at her troops, "Ok, let's move."

Cairo turned of his suits transmitter, but left the receiver open to see if he could intercept any stray communications as they started to move down the corridor towards the first junction.

The Sergeant in the lead raised a hand to stop anyone, and then motion the trooper fallowing him to look left while he looked right. Both men pulled fibre optic probes from their belts and poked them round the corner, scanning the corridor beyond. The Sergeant gave the thumbs up, but the commando looking the other way gave thumbs down.

Silently gliding across the gravity free vacuum that filled the corridor, Major Akuma took up position to look through her own spy-scope. She held her hand up, one finger raised, then clenched her fist, and made a circle in the air: one hostile with a combat shotgun.

Cairo flicked of the safety catch on his Magshot and raised it to the rifle to his shoulder, pulling it in tight.

Akuma shook her head, signalling a commando carrying high-powered laser carbine to step forward. Everyone else moved back as the young commando used her probe to look round the corner before checking her own weapon was ready.

Kicking away from the floor, she floated to the ceiling and braced herself against the bulkheads. Tucking her carbine tightly to her shoulder to stabilise it, she kicked forward so she drifted into the junction ready to fire.

Cairo found it strange to watch someone take such a well-aimed and rehearsed shot with absolutely no sound: a single flash of sapphire-green light pierced the gloom, leaving a burning after image in his eyes. He shook his head to clear his vision as the commandos spilt into two teams, one taking each side of the junction.

Akuma pointed at the deck and circled her hand, indicating that it was their rendezvous point for the return journey.

Cairo followed the Major along the corridor, sweeping his rifle back and forth; never looking a direction his gun wasn't pointed. He smiled: his old drill instructor from basic would have been proud. Los Alamos, like many Periphery worlds, relied on infantry for most of their standing army and Militia. Everyone, even the high and might MechWarriors were expected to undergo basic small arms training.

Movement caught Cairo's eyes as they swept the corridor, and he instantly brought his gun round: a suited vigour was standing with their back to the approaching commandoes, apparently concentrating on a fire fight going on round the next corner. The suit bore Word of Blake identification markings.

Cairo raised his Magshot and aimed for the middle of the sword painted on the back of the suit and started to slowly pull the trigger.

Akuma rested a hand on the rifle and shook her head. Moving forward, the commando pulled a vibroknife from her belt and turned it on: the blade started to glow as it vibrated faster than the human eye could fallow. The knives were first developed for use by techs, and could slice through BattleMech armor with ease.

It hadn't take long for someone to realise that they could also cut through a human body with no resistance.

Moving a stealthily as a jungle cat, Akuma made her way forward, knife held ready in her right hand. Quick as a viper, she grabbed the unsuspecting Wobbly round the head and stabbed them in the back of the neck. The vibroknife cut through the lightly armoured spacesuit and the flesh beyond, severing the victim's spinal cord.

They were dead before they realised what was happening.

The body fell to the deck, making a figure in a suit of _Tornado_ Power Armor look round. The startled Word of Blake solider raised the TK Assault-rifle they were holding and started to bring it round to face Akuma.

**TBC…**

_Many thanks to those who reviewed: it's nice to know that someone is readying this. I've already stated work on the third part of this set piece battle._


	10. That same old feeling

**The Cairo Saga, book 4: Operation Chindit  
Part 10: That same old feeling**

_CS _Bordeaux  
_Zenith jump-point  
__Un-named system  
__Dieron Military District  
__Draconis Combine_

Cairo's finger pulled back on the trigger for his Magshot.

The single grape-sized round left the barrel at something approaching twice the speed of sound, crossing the distance almost instantaneously. The armoured figure was blasted backwards by the force of impact, slamming against the bulkhead as blood started to flow freely from the gaping fist sized wound.

The assault rifle in the solders hand fired as their body went into spasm, sending a burst of 1mm bullets into the faceplate of the young commando who had made the difficult shot in the corridor just minuets before. The Plexiglas shattered under the impact, turning the woman's face into a mess as her head was blown apart.

Deep inside Cairo's head, something that had lain dormant for a long time was awoken. Pure rage flowed through him as he stalked off down the corridor, leaving Major Akuma and the others far behind.

Cairo stalked the corridors like a vengeful wraith, intent on killing until there was nothing left alive. Word of Blake marines and crewmembers alike fell under his gun as he moved from section to section, pausing only to reload.

Finally running out of ammunition for the Magshot, Cairo gripped it like a club from its overheated barrel and used it to batter one opponent to death, only stopping when they flouted motionless against the wall.

Major Akuma and her team followed at a distance, shocked by the shear brutality of Cairo's actions.

Leaving his Magshot floating in the middle of the corridor, Cairo drew his paired Stetta auto-pistols and fired them with near clinical piscine, leaving a trail of death and destruction in his wake.

The Word of Blake solders apparently knew he was coming, as more and more of them ran as soon as he came into view. Major Akuma picked up several transmissions made in the clear that referred to 'The Demon', and she presumed that they were in reference to Cairo.

Fighting religious fanatics could be most confusing.

Cairo's silent rampage looked like it was finally going to come to an end when he ran out of ammo for his side arms, but instead he simply drew his Kukri and used it to slash open the pressure suit of a terrified Wobbly who stood before him like a deer trapped in headlights.

Grabbing the man's shotgun as he tried his best to seal the gaping gash, Cairo chambered around and pulled the trigger. The blast sent the target spinning end-over-end down the corridor, trailing a constant stream of blood as they went.

* * *

Cairo finally stopped when he ran out of targets in front of a barricade erected by the crew to keep the Word of Blake away from the Combat Information Centre, the most heavily fortified room on the ship.

"Who goes there?" A terrified voice asked, "Identify yourself!"

"My codename is Azrael." Cairo's smile was dark and foreboding, "The Angel of Death."

"Stand right where you are!" The voice replied, trying to sound more confident than it was, "Hands where we can see them."

"As you wish…" Cairo bowed his head slightly, hands held out so the people behind the barricade could see the blood that still clung to the blade of the Kukri in his right hand.

"Colonel…" Major Akuma approached Cairo from behind, her gun pointed at his back, "Sir, maybe you should put the knife down?"

Cairo wordlessly whipped the blade clean on the arm of his suit before slipping it back into the specially designed scarab on his belt.

Part of the barricade moved, to crewmembers armed with laser rifles popped their heads through.

"Codeword?" One of them asked, their voice shaky.

"Revelations." Cairo's voice was slowly returning to normal, the tension leaving his body.

"Oh thank god…" The laser rifles were lowered, "I'm sorry sir: the dammed Wobblies tried to trick us before. We had to make sure."

"Yeah, well, everybody relax; I'm here." Cairo slowly stepped forward, "Now what in the hell is so important that you put up such stiff resistance?"

"I think it would be better if we showed you, sir." The senior crewman motioned towards the CIC, "I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."

* * *

"This has got to be a nightmare." Cairo shook his head, "Any minuet now I'm going to wake up and this will all have been a bad dream."

"I assure you colonel, this is no dream." Isis Marik stood in the middle of the CIC, dressed in pressure suit, a pair of heavily armed guards at her side, "I must admit, I never expected to see you again, at least, not under these circumstance."

"No: you expected to see me dancing the hemp-fandango under a gallows tree." Cairo collapsed into a chair, "So what in the hell are you doing this far behind enemy lines? Last I heard you were expecting your first child."

"Indeed I was, but that is beside the point: I am attempting to reach what remains of the Free World League to see if I can rally what remains of its military to fight against the Word of Blake."

"Good luck: this ship is in no condition for a journey like that!"

"Then it is my good fortune that you should happen upon us in a fully functional ship."

"Do I have to remind you that I have, like all those under my command, been declared renegade? Your dear husband has given every unit under Allied command orders to shoot me on sight. As a matter of fact, your friends outside should have killed me the moment I identified myself."

"I am fully capable of reading between the lines, Colonel Cairo…"

"Mr, it's 'Mr' Cairo: I was stripped of my rank by the JAG back on Tharkad."

"Very well, Mr Cairo. As I was saying, I am capable of reading between the lines, even if Victor wants to keep me from getting involved in this war. If I can rally what remains of my homelands military, it may be enough to tip the balance against the Word of Blake. As such, I am commandeering your ship to take me to the Free Worlds League as quickly as possible."

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that: I have my own intentions for my ship, and they don't include playing taxi for you."

"You intend to just leave us here?"

"No: I intend to make sure this ship is capable of operating under it's own power, then sending it back towards the nearest planet under allied control."

"I find that total unacceptable."

"Frankly Duchess, I don't give a damn."

"You have a real attitude problem, **MR** Cairo!"

"No: _you_ have a problem _with_ my attitude, there is a difference."

"I can see that there is no point in trying in trying to reason with you." Isis sighed, "Very well: we would appreciate any help you can give us in making this ship ready to head back to Lyran space as soon as possible."

"It shouldn't be too difficult: most the part we need will be on the _Deliverance_, so it will just be a question of salvaging them and installing them into this ship." Cairo stood to leave, "Oh, could you please pass a personal message onto Victor for me: tell him to remember what I said at Sigfried Glacier."

**TBC…**

_The Kukri is a curve bladed knife with a heavy back to allow more force to be applied during an attack. They can be almost any size, up to and including machete. They originate in Nepal and are most famous as the signature weapon of the fearsome Ghurkhas, the finest light-infantry in the world. The bit about the blade needing to draw blood every time it is removed from its scarab is true: modern day Ghurkhas (there are still Ghurkha regiments in the British and Nepalese armies) still cut themselves every time they draw their Kukri._


	11. Run Silent, Run Deep

**The Cairo Saga, book 4: Operation Chindit  
Part 11: Run Silent, Run Deep**

_CNC _Spirit Sight  
_Unnamed planet  
__Unnamed system  
__Chaos March_

"If there is a secret fuel dump around here, I can not see it." Cairo looked at the image on the main screen: a huge gas giant hung in the distance, surrounded by a complex ring system, "The phrase 'needle in a haystack' comes to mind."

"It is there, and we will find it." Star-Commodore Leroux smiled, "The rings are unusually dense, which is why they were chose by ComStar to hide the supply dump. We need fuel, and this is the only place to get it."

"I preferred the 'raid a Word of Blake' convoy option."

"As do I, but we can not risk engaging the enemy in a major battle until our mission is fulfilled: we have no way to repair anything but the most minor damage…"

"Contact, 5,000-km off the starboard bow!" The sensor officer reported, "Possible warship."

"Sound General Quarters!" Leroux ordered, "Identify target."

"Running through the war-book." The weapons officer worked her controls, "Target reads as _Vincent_ Class Corvette FWLS _Liberty_."

"_Stravag_!" Leroux swore, "Silent Running, all systems! Close all compartments. Detach the DropShip: we will need all the engine power we can get. Bring all weapons on line, but visual targeting only."

Every light on the Corvette went red as it prepaired for combat.

"Anything more on sensors?" Leroux asked in a hush voice, despite the fact that there was no way anyone of the other ship could possibly hear him.

"Neg." The first officer shook her head, "Passive sensors are useless amid all this clutter, and the enemy has stopped radiating."

"They have seen us!" Leroux looked at the holo-tank, "Helm, ten degrees down on the bow, steady as she goes: we need to get deeper into the ring."

"Ten degrees down on the bow, aye-aye." The helmsman nodded, pushing forward on the stick that controlled the ships thrusters. The computer adjusted the feedback pressure according to how hard the controls were pushed.

Several loud bangs resonated throughout the ship as ring fragments struck the outer hull, shattering on impact. The entire crew fell silent as the ship delved deeper into the rings.

The passive sensors did their best to pick up any sign of the other ship, but it too was running silent, turning off all external sensors. Cairo looked as the image on the screen turned through inferred, magnetic and visible light, but there was nothing but ice and dust in every direction.

"Helm: level us out and set a course towards _Vincent's_ last known position. Guns: ready to fire as they bare!" Leroux turned to Cairo, "Colonel, we can not afford to engage the enemy in a head-on fight: I need permission to use nuclear ordinance."

"I defer to your judgment on this issue." Cairo pulled his pass-key from around his neck and handed it to the other officer, "I only hope we do not damage the fuel dump."

"A risk we will have to take." Leroux slipped the key into a slot on the arm of his chair and turned it, "Air-Boss: tell the alert fighters to prepare for launch. Master-at-arms: remove four Alamo-missiles from the magazines, arm them and have them loaded onto the alert fighters."

The crew silently acknowledged the order.

* * *

The sleek aerospace fighters made their way though the rings like sharks, moving with steady determination. Their pilots looked everywhere, checking every shadow and shape for any sign of the _Vincent_.

Secured tightly to their fuselage sat the innocent looking but deadly Alamo anti-ship missiles, each one capable to destroying a ship many times the size of the _Liberty_.

* * *

"Picking up intermittent contact on passive sensors." The first officer reported, "Too small to be a WarShip."

"_Vincent's_ have no DropShip collars." Leroux rubbed his chin, "Is it a fighter?"

"Neg: energy signature is too low." The sensor officer shook his head, "Running war-book check now."

"Air boss: launch our CAP." Leroux looked at the holo tank intently, "Tell them to standby to engage enemy fighters."

"War book has matched signal." The weapons officer looked up, "Target is confirmed as _Barracuda_ missile."

"Stravag! They are using it as a remote sensor drone!" Leroux hissed, "Tell the CAG to flank it and try and lead it away before destroying it. And be weary of fighters following behind: they could be using it to coordinate an attack."

* * *

The first quartet of fighters was still sweeping the rings for sign of the Free Worlds League warship when one of them crossed a communications beam. The fighter's computer automatically backtracked the signal to its point of origin and plotted an intercept cores.

The flight leader gave the command to go weapons hot as the fighters began their attack run.

* * *

"Running the risk of sounding like a bigger fool than normal." Cairo took a deep breath, "But why do we not just run for the nearest pirate-point and get the hell out of here?"

"We need more than just fuel from the supply cash." Leroux explained as he waited for the shooting to start, "This ship is not designed for long-term operations away from a support structure. We do not carry the necessary supplies and equipment to run a full maintenance schedule. We can adapt the equipment and materials in the cash to our needs. The only other option would be to abandon our mission and head for the nearest friendly dry-dock."

"That would be difficult at best; suicidal at worst…"

"I have to agree with you on that Steven."

* * *

Silent as a shark, the lead Nova Cat fighter passed up through the upper layer of the ring and spotted the FWL _Vincent_ in silowet against the Gas Giant. The fighters split into two groups of two, the lead pair acceleration across the surface of the ring as fast as their engines could carry them.

The _Vincent_ launched its remaining fighters against the attackers, but the Clan built craft where already in range, and two Alamo's leapt from the rails towards the fast approaching warship. The Fighters pulled back sharply, flipping end-over-end as they did they best to counteract their forward momentum.

Space erupted in fire as the Liberty did her best to stop the missiles. One exploded harmlessly halfway between the fighters and the Warship, but the other struck the _Vincent_ amidships and detonated.

The Corvette disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

The _Spirit Sight_ shook violently as the first barrage of missiles from the FWL fighters stuck its hull, blasting craters in its armor plating. Not to be outdone, the Corvette's gunners returned fire, blasting two of the attacks to scrap. A third tried to avoid a volley of fire and slammed nose-first into a chunk of ice and dust, exploding violently.

* * *

"By Neptune's Trident, we can not afford to take this sort of punishment for long!" Leroux slammed his fists down on the arms of his chair violently, "Go active on all sensors: there is no point trying to hide now!"

The main console lit up like a Christmas tree as the ships sensor arrays went from stand-by to active. The targeting computer started to identify and track fighters, sifting through the sea of false contacts that the ring created.

"We need to get clear of all this clutter!" Leroux turned his back on the holo-tank, "Helm: bring us up and out of the ring. Air-boss: have the fighters follow us.

* * *

To anyone observing, it looked like some mythical sea monster was erupting from the abyss as the _Spirit Sight_ burst through the upper layers of the ring, trailing ice and dust in its wake. It rolled on its long-axis, brining fresh armor to bear on the pursuing fighters.

But the Nova Cat fighters where following close behind their mother ship, firing as they went. The fight soon degenerated into a fierce dogfight, with the _Spirit Sight_ forced to sit on the sidelines, only taking the occasional shot for fear of hitting its own fighters.

In most areas of combat, the Clans always held the upper hand, but aerospace combat had been the exception to the rule from the beginning of Clan Invasion. The Free World Leaguers where able to give almost as good as they got, claiming 1 Clan OmniFighter for every two the lost. But they started out with half the number of fighters to start with, and it soon became clear that the battle was one-sided.

The last two FWL fighters tried to make a run for it, only to find the fighters sent to attack the _Liberty_ coming the other way. With relative speeds of several thousands kilometres per-hour, the fighters passed each other, firing as they went.

One Nova Cat fighter erupted in a ball of flame as it took a critical hit.

In return, the last two League ships were also destroyed.

* * *

"By Kerenskys bones, that was closer than I would have liked!" Leroux sank back down into his seat, "Recover all fighters, and send out Search and Rescue teams to look for survivors from our ships." He didn't need to remind anyone that they had no way of dealing with prisoners.

"Picking up a coded signal from the supply cash." The first officer reported, "200-km of the starboard side."

"About time." Leroux smiled weakly, "Helm, take us in: we need that equipment even more than before…"

**TBC…**


	12. Heart of Darkness

**The Cairo Saga, book 4: Operation Chindit  
Part 12: Heart of Darkness**

_Cairo stood in the middle of a seemingly endless void: there was nothing but total darkness in every direction._

_What confused him the most was that he was still able to see his body, apparently dressed in the same cooling vest, shorts and boots he wore when piloting his BattleMech. The complete lack of any apparent illumination scared him slightly._

_"Well, will you just look what the cat dragged in?" A sneering voice came from behind Cairo, making him turn with no apparent effort._

_"YOU!" Cairo went for his side arm, but his holster was empty, as was the scarab for his kukri._

_"Yeah, me." Cain smiled, "It's good to see you again Steven. Just like old times."_

_"You bastard!" Cairo tried to leap forward, but found himself suddenly paralysed._

_"Now that won't do: you need to work on controlling that temper of yours if we're going to be friends."_

_"I'll kill you! I swear to god, I will kill you!"_

_"And why would you want to do that? Without me, what do you have to live for?"_

_"MURDERING BASTARD!"_

_"Temper, temper. Is that anyway to talk to your brother? You did marry my oh so lovely little sister…"_

_"You leave Sinade out of this you monster!"_

_"She was such a sweet little girl, so innocent. Oh, thing things I could tell you about Sinade O'Brien! There is still so much about her you don't know…"_

_"What do you want with me, Cain?"_

_"Can't I just pass the time of day with a good friend? Is that truly too much to ask for?"_

_"I know you too well: you only talk when you want something."_

_"Well, that would be true: I want to meet the Angel of Death, face to face."_

_"What are you talking about?"_

_"Oh come now Steven, I know the really you, that little bit of darkness you keep hidden away in the back of your mind, just waiting to be unleashed. That's the real you: the man who changed your name from Clark to Cairo in the first place, the man who chased me right across the Inner Sphere. That's the Steven Cairo I want to talk to: the one who's just like me."_

_"I am nothing like you."_

_"Oh, but you can be! And ever time you let that little bit of darkness you keep locked up out, you become more and more like me."_

_"Nice try: you almost had me there for a minuet" Cairo smiled as everything fell into place, "We've been through this before, years ago, after Sinade tried to kill herself: this is all in my head, it's not real."_

_"It's as real as you want it to be, and you know you need the part of you that brought me here to see this war thought to the end…"_

_"Maybe, but I don't need you." Cairo held out his hand, and the universe seemed to convulse suddenly, and Cain was standing in the middle of his outstretched palm, "Yes, you are part of my mind, but you do not control me. I am Steven Patrick Clark, son of David and Miranda Clark. I was born in the city of Cairo on Los Alamos, April 25th, 3042. I am a solider, a MechWarrior, entrusted with the duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves."_

_"A grand speech indeed, but you are also a killer. I've been with you all this time, and every now and then, you let me out to play. You need me Steven, and you know it."_

_"No, I don't. I use you: there is a difference." Cairo closed his hand, crushing Cain._

* * *

_CNC _Spirit Sight  
_Pirate Point  
VB 8_

The first thing Cairo heard when he woke was the constant beeping of the EKG machine next to the bed. The absence of anything keeping him down told him he was in the ships small infirmary, located on the rotating gravity-deck. He opened his eyes slowly, the rusty light from the Red Dwarf shone in through the porthole, making the room look almost homely.

"I was getting worried about you." Sinade smiled as she leaned forward in her chair, "You fell over and banged your head when we jumped in-system. The doc says you managed to give yourself a nasty concussion."

"How long was I out?" Cairo asked as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"A little over three days: the doctor wanted you to come round naturally rather than wake you. He's getting a little worried about all the time you've spent in a hospital bed over the last few years: your scars are begging to get scars."

"Scars let you know you're still alive."

"You scare me when you talk like that. You've been acting differently ever since you came back from the _Bordeaux_. What happened over there? What aren't you telling me?"

"I acted in a way I would rather forget about. A way I have not acted in a long time."

"Like the way you acted on Solaris during your last match?"

"Yes…"

"Steven, you need to keep yourself together. You can't go off like that again. The crew needs you to stay focused: they'd follow you through the gates of hell, no questions asked. They have all willingly given up the lives they had back home to join this mission, knowing that it could mean death for everyone of them. They believe in **YOU**, not the mission, not the generals, **YOU**."

"Then they are all fools."

"Why?"

"Because all I can do is kill people: some I kill on purpose, some I kill by association. All those people who died at Costa Mesa because I couldn't tell Grissum was the traitor, not Spendlove? All those people who died on Callisto V when Word of Blake nuked those cities because I wouldn't surrender…"

"We've talked about that: they would have detonated the bombs anyway. They know they can't hope to defeat the entire Inner Sphere using conventional arms, so they use weapons of mass destruction at every opportunity."

"With that in mind, there is something I must do." Cairo reached to his neck and removed the firing key, "You're not going on the next part of the mission, but I am. If anything happens to me, I need you and Leroux to see the others somewhere safe." He handed the key over, "I personally recommend either the Draconis Combine or the Federated Suns. What ever you do, keep away from Lyran space: they will still be looking for us."

"You really think things might go that badly?"

"We are about to walk right into the lions den. If we are lucky, and Clearwater's intelligence is correct, we should be able to slip in and out without being detected. If the intelligence is wrong, then the _Spirit Sight_ may have to jump back out again at a moments notice."

"I would never abandon you…"

"You will, if the need arises: the person is expendable, the mission isn't. How much longer before the hyperdrive is recharged?"

"Just under 100-hours: Leroux wants to make sure the batteries are charged before we jump again."

"Considering where we are going, I can't say I blame him..."

* * *

_CNC _Spirit Sight  
_Pirate Point  
Outside the Kuiper Belt  
Sol_

Space rippled as the Corvette jumped the last 5.8 light years to its target. The energy wave the ships arrive generated was soon lot against the endless interplanetary night. This didn't stop all those onboard from acting like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs once news of just where they where spread.

A pair of doors opened in the _Spirit Sights_ side, allowing a pair of shuttles to move freely into their natural environment. Changing direction slightly, they headed off for distant Pluto.

**TBC…**


	13. Eye of the storm

**The Cairo Saga, book 4: Operation Chindit  
Part 13: Eye of the storm**

_The Kuiper Belt  
__Sol_

Despite being made up of millions of objects raging in size from specks of dust to moonlets, the Kuiper Belt is mainly made up of space, something that surprised Cairo as he looked out of the shuttles small view port. The other shuttle was lost somewhere against the endless sea of space, the security of the mission forbidding either running lights or beacons.

This deep into Word of Blake territory, and detection meant instant death.

"Pluto should be coming into visual range any minuet now." The pilot reported, her hushed voice sounding like a thunderclap in the silence of the cabin, "Charon is in eclipse from our approach vector."

"Suck it in people!" Major Akuma turned to her people, "Stay sharp and remember the golden rule: you're hit, you're dead. We can't afford to stop for anything."

Cairo didn't look up as he checked his weapons before looking at the seals on the suit of the man next to him in the age-old buddy system. Of all hostile environments man had encountered since leaving Terra over a thousand years before, none was less forgiving than deep space, were the temperature was only a few degrees above absolute zero.

"And there she is…" The pilot pointed out of the view port as the slender crescent of Pluto finally came into view, "Ninth planet of the Sol system, although it is generally considered to be a Kuiper Belt Object, Pluto was named after the ancient Roman god of the underworld. 2,390-km in diameter, with a surface gravity of 0.059-G's and an escape velocity of only 1.2km/s. the surface temperature is a balmy 44K, dropping to 33k in the shade."

"Basically, don't press down to hard when you walk or your reach escape velocity, and we don't have the fuel to look for you." Akuma warned, "Remember, we won't be running any long-range communications: we have to leave the smallest possible electromagnetic footprint. As it is, we're lucky the _Spirit Sight_ has such a small emergence signal, or we'd have god knows what crawling all over us."

"Also try and avoid being seen by any passive or active monitoring equipment that may be on the surface." Cairo looked round, "There is the possibility that Word of Blake either discovered or was told about Station-X and took it down themselves. If that's true, they must have known that someone would be sent to try and repair it, so their could be all kinds of booby traps. Any damage to your suit can be fatal. Try and remember that the _Spirit Sight_ is two days away at full burn."

"Coming in for orbital insertion." The pilot flipped the shuttle end over end before firing the main engines in a controlled burn that robbed the ship of most of its forward momentum. With Pluto's thin atmosphere all but frozen to the surface, the shuttle was able to make a steeper than average decent to the surface.

"60-seconds people!" Cairo warned as he looked at the flight controls, "Express elevator to hell, going down!"

The shuttle shook violently as it dropped like a stone, falling towards the planet below. The sudden change in direction would have thrown people all over the cabin if not for their restraints. A faint corona wisped past the view ports as the shuttle passed through what little ionosphere Pluto had.

"Hold on tight, 'cause this ones really going to hurt!" The pilot warned just seconds before she activated main drive, slowing the spheroid ships descent to a survivable speed. There was a high pitched whine as the landing struts extended and locked into place with a thud just moments before the ship touched down.

There was a heart-stopping lurch to the side, but the hydraulics compensated, righting the ship on an even keel. The pilot checked the gages one by one before giving the thumbs up that it was safe to move about.

The micro-gravity environment made movement difficult. It wasn't quite zero-G, and it wasn't like being on a planet or accelerating ship: the slightest movement could send you to the ceiling, only to slowly fall back down. It was easy in such situations to forget about inertia, but it was always there, ready to trick the unwary.

Once everyone had checked and rechecked their suits and equipment, the airlock was opened and the first commandos made their way out onto the frozen surface. Everyone, without exception, looked at the distant, dim light of Sol with a sense of awe. Many then tried to find Terra amid the myriad of stars.

"Don't waste your time." The pilot's voice was hushed over the short-range encrypted communications system, "You'd need one hell of a telescope, and Terra's to close to Sol to be seen from here."

Turning their backs on the view, the tech's opened the cargo bay and started to assemble the micro-gravity sled that they would need to travel the distance to Station-X. Cairo could just make out the other shuttle in the distance, its crew doing the exact same thing. Both ships carried the equipment and personnel needed to repair the automated station, so that if anything had happened to one of the shuttles, the mission would not be crippled.

Two of the commandos scouted ahead, using specially adapted thrusters packs to glide across the landscape. The powered sled worked on the same general principal, bit it had room for the rest of the team and the equipment. Two commandoes stayed behind with the pilot to secure the shuttle.

Cairo found moving across the surface of Pluto, the silence only broken by the sound of his breathing and the constant, reassuring sound of the breathing system, was rather surreal. He had to reputably stop himself from daydreaming as they hovered across the nearly featureless surface.

After an hours travelling at a snails pace, the tech manning the controls set the sled down with the slightest of jolts, the entire assembly bouncing once before stopping. The commandoes moved to securer the parameter while the tech's carefully made their way over to the camouflaged listing post. The low ferocreat mound was painted to match the surrounding ice, but close up it was possible to see the access panel built into the side.

The lead tech looked everything over visually before allowing anyone to move close. Move intensive electronic scans failed to detect any tampering, so they prepaired to activate the remote control that would open the access panel. Everyone crouched down on the ground, taking what little cover they could find as the code was entered.

The access panel slid open without any fuss, revealing the complex circuitry inside. Taking a portable terminal from the sled, the senior tech jacked into the listing post's internal computer and ran a complete and in-depth diagnostic of every system.

"There is a fault in the connection between the buffers and the transmitter." The tech reported after what felt like an ice age, "All the information is still intact, but it has been unable to transmit."

"I take it we can fix it?" Cairo asked, nervously eyeing the gage that displayed his remaining air supply.

"It should be a case of just replacing a few relays and resetting the system. Shouldn't take more than an hour."

"Do it in less; we only have two hours of air left before we have to cut into our emergency supplies."

Time moved at a crawl, the tech's seeming to take their time on what they considered a routine repair job. Cairo kept scanning the sky apprehensively, expecting to see the deadly shape of a DropShip appear overhead at any moment. The commandoes were also getting fidgety, always scanning the horizon with their weapons, fingers resting on the trigger.

"Done." The senior tech reported after an eon, "Running good as new. I even set up a backup system in case the same fault appears again."

"Ok people, let's pack up and get out of here." Cairo checked the level of his air tank, "We're going to be cutting it fine as it is."

Everyone returned to the sled, one or two attaching airline from the reserve tanks it carried to his or her suit. The tech at the controls looked round to make sure that everyone was onboard before powering up and setting a new speed record for the tip back to the waiting shuttle.

**TBC…**


	14. Parting shots

**The Cairo Saga, book 4: Operation Chindit  
Part 14: Parting shots**

_CNC _Spirit Sight

_The Kuiper Belt_

_Sol_

Cairo felt relived to be back on the Warship after almost a week spent in the cramped confines of the shuttle. The first thing he intended to do was spend some quality time in one of the showers located in the ships rotating grav-deck.

He was a little surprised to see the ship's doctor waiting for him.

"Colonel." The short woman looked as professional as any other Clan medic, "I need to see you in my office, immediately."

Cairo through about arguing, but there was something about the look in the woman's eyes that told him it was too important to delay.

"Than by all means, lead on." He nodded.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I have been going over the result for the medical exam I conducted on you just before you left." The Doctor explained once they reached the privacy of the closet she called an office, "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"Ok." Cairo nodded slowly, "What did you find."

"This." The doctor handed over a print-off from the ships small CAT-scanner, "There is a tumour in your frontal lobe. I am afraid to say that, due to its position, that it is inoperable."

"How long."

"There are several courses of treatment that we can discus…"

"How long."

"I can not say for sure; five months, five years, tomorrow. This type of tumour is notoriously hard to predict. You are not displaying any symptoms yet, but it is only a matter of time before you do. I can prescribe medication to keep the worst of it at bay, but it will become noticeable."

"Will I still be able to pilot a BattleMech?"

"Yes: with the correct medication, there is nothing to stop you living a normal life. The location and type of the tumour mean that there will be no major symptoms until the very end. When it happens, it will be quick and painless."

"What more could a man hope for in life…"

"I am not really qualified to deal with this sort of situation. Perhaps the doctor on the _Wildfire_ would be able to suggest something…"

"If you are saying that I should see a physiatrist, then I think you are mistaken. I have known for a very long time that I would die before my four score and ten were up."

"You are taking this very well."

"This is just shock: I fully intend to have a shower, go back to my quarters and get blind drunk…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Cairo's head felt like an _Atlas_ was stomping on it. His tough felt like something had crawled into his mouth to die. Through bloodshot eyes he saw someone offer him a bulb of coffee and two aspirin.

"Thanks." He groaned as he took the offered painkillers and washed them down with a mouthful of steaming hot black coffee.

"The doctor told me what she found." Sinade sat down on the bed, keeping the Velcro tabs on the soles of her feet attached to the deck, "I had to pull my 'executive officers' card before she'd breach confidentiality, but she told me in the end."

"How do you feel?"

"Isn't that something I should be asking you?"

"Sinade…"

"Numb, I feel numb. I can live with the concept that we're at war, and people die in wars, but this is just so out of the blue."

"Yeah, well I'm not exactly happy with it myself: all I care about is seeing this mission through to the end and getting to Alshain to be with the kids. Maybe the doctors there can do something."

"We're still in the very heart of Word of Blake territory, wanted dead by both sides. Getting out may not be that easy."

"We can head for Davion space: the Federated Suns owe as a few favours, and it's about time we cashed them in. After that we can head up through the Combine till we he the Ghost Bear Domain. All we need to do is steer clear of Lyran space: I'd be shot on sight."

"I guess it's true: you can never go home again."

"I'm sorry it's like this Sinade, but there is no way we can go back there…"

"Steven, the Alliance hasn't been my home for a very, very long time. I stopped thinking of it as home after the Clan's invaded Somerset. Outreach and the Dragoons were home, for a while, but home **IS** where the heart is: my home is where ever you and our children are. I don't regret for one moment marrying you."

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" Cairo asked.

His wife's response kept his mind occupied for some time.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was late in the ships night when Cairo pulled himself through the hatchway into the bridge. Star-Commodore Ivan Leroux was hunched over the map table, pen in hand.

"Pfennig for your thoughts?" Cairo asked.

"A less than expectable exchange rate." The old Nova Cat smiled, "You are taking the doctors news very well."

"Does everyone on this ship know?"

"We have a small crew, and rumours travel faster than HPG's. You have my condolences."

"I'm over 30: wouldn't that make me solahma?"

"We Nova Cats think differently: I am almost 50 standard years old, but am still considered a competent field commander."

"Who captains a Corvette?"

"You take what you can get."

"Fair enough. So, what you planning?"

"I feel we should leave Word of Blake something to remind us by before we turn our back on this system."

"You have something in mind?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_The Cassini Division_

_Saturn_

_Sol_

Space flashed as the _Spirit Sight_ appeared in the gap between the rings, setting off every alarm within two A.U.'s. Fighters and Assault DropShips took off from the shipyards in orbit of Titan, while a pair of half-completed _Suffren_ class destroyers lit their interplanetary drives, ready to engage the enemy.

A pair of doors opened in the side of the _Spirit Sight_. There was a puff of escaping air, and a number of small spheres floated out into space, drifting towards the oncoming defenders.

A series of bright flashes filled the second hatch, and a number of modified Arrow IV artillery missiles leapt from hastily constructed launchers. Their drive flairs burning brightly for a few seconds, then died.

Both doors closed with a silent click.

Space rippled, and the _Spirit Sight_ disappeared in a flash of light, its hyperdrive drawing power from its reserve batteries.

The Word of Blake fighters and DropShips continued on cores, intent on looking for anything the warship had dropped off. They passed by the missiles heading the other direction without noticing them, the radar absorbent coating on the weapons making them all but invisible.

The first _Shiva_ nuclear mine to detonate destroyed a Stingray light fighter and damaged several others, and made the other ships scatter. But by then it was already too later: the small fleet was already in the middle of the minefield. Space erupted in a series of silent explosions as the proximity detonators on the _Shiva's_ detected targets. Two locked onto the same _Intruder_ class assault-ship.

Nothing remained when the glared died down.

The two _Suffren's_ managed to avoid the carnage of the minefield, but were caught the edge of the swarm of _Arrow's_. Each missiles Alamo warhead was large enough to disable or destroy a ship twice the size of a _Suffren_, and each ship look multiple hits. The areas that were covered by a full layer of armour survived relatively intact, but the remainder of the ships were not so lucky.

The two hulks floated dead in space.

Alarms had already started to sound at the Titan fleet yards, and the defensive systems did their best to put up a wall of flack to stop the incoming missiles. Several where stopped, but not all.

Flash after flash lit up the shipyards as the missiles struck home, their warheads vaporising everything they hit.

Word of Blake had, for a long time, been using the yards to refit merchant and pirate JumpShips to use as transports in the war, and the shipyard was full to overflowing. Each hit meant one less ship the fanatics could use continue the war, and the damage done to the infrastructure meant that they would be hard put to keep their remaining fleet in action.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_CNC_ Spirit Sight

_Interstellar space_

_The Chaos March_

The corvette reappeared in normal space with a flash, keeping as far as possible from any star to avoid the fleet of ships that would no doubt be sent looking for it.

"That was a close one." Cairo wiped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his uniform, "Pity we couldn't stick around and watch the fireworks."

"I am sure that Station-X will intercept footage of the destruction." Leroux nodded, "I am only sorry that we had to damage such a useful and advanced instillation. I only hope that our allies are able to uncover the location of the Ruins of Gabriel."

"The what not?"

"The Ruins of Gabriel: a Star League Defence Force warship repair faculty somewhere in Lyran space. Its exact location was unknown by the time we went silent running, but what remains of the Explorer Corps was supposable looking for it."

"But if it was a Star League base, shouldn't you know where it was, given that the Clans are descended from the SLDF?"

"Aff, we should, but we have been unable to find any records of it in our databanks. Its absence is a mystery."

"Well all I care about is getting to the nearest friendly base where we can get this ship repaired."

"We are charging the batteries as we speak, but were shall we go?"

"New Syrtis in the Federated Suns: apart from some damage inflicted by the Capellans during a raid, the shipyards are reportable intact. I'd prefer Kathil, but the yard there took a lot of damage during the FedCom Civil War, and was still rebuilding when Word of Blake started this war."

"New Syrtis it is then."

**TBC…**


	15. Pilgrims in an unholy land

**The Cairo Saga, book 4: Operation Chindit  
Part 15: Pilgrims in an unholy land**

_CNC _Spirit Sight  
_Pirate Point  
__Devil's Rock  
__Free Worlds League_

"Could some one please explain to me just what we're doing here?" Cairo asked as he looked at the holographic map of the Inner Sphere that dominated the bridge, "Call me a pessimist, but the Free Worlds League isn't exactly on the top of my holiday destinations list."

"That is why it is probably the last place World of Blake will look for us." Leroux sounded smug, "We need some surplices, expendables like food and water, and this is perhaps the best place to look for them."

"And you think that why?"

"The League has collapsed into yet another Civil War, splintering along the same divisions that have always plagued it. Word of Blake does not need to garrison every world to keep what is left of the military out of the war: it is too busy fighting itself.

"True, but we are supposed to be headed for New Syrtis in the Federated Suns."

"Indeed, but as that is our most likely destination, there is a high probability that Word of Blake will be lying in wait for us."

"That is very fuzzy logic."

"What other kid of logic is there?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_DropShip _Wildfire  
_Inbound,_ _Devil's Rock  
__Free Worlds League_

"Repeat; this is Captain Malcolm Fillion of the DropShip _Firefly_ to approach control, come in please." Serv called into the radio again as the DropShip continued its descent, the altered transponder giving out a false signal of a simple merchant.

"Still nothing." Cairo sat strapped into the captain's seat, "I have a very bad feeling about this."

"You have a very bad feeling about most things." Sinade smiled, "You're a pessimist."

"I prefer to think of myself as a pragmatist."

"You would…"

The DropShip shudder as it passed through an area of turbulence, shaking the craft violently. Cairo fought the urge to be physically sick, instead concentrating on the still silent radio.

"I'll try one last time, then take us in on a general approach vector." Serv shouted over his shoulder, "This is Captain Malcolm Fillion of the merchant DropShip _Firefly_ to approach control, over."

"_DropShip_ Firefly, _this is Morningstar Spaceport_." A voice crackled over the radio, "_State your purpose or you will be fired upon_."

"We are a merchant craft looking to purchase supplies." Serv insisted, "Request approach vector."

"_En Garde! En Garde!_" A new voice came over the radio, "_This is Echo Flight leader to DropShip _Firefly: _we have you in our sights and will escort you down. Deviate from your current aproch vector and you will be fired upon_."

"Roger that, Echo flight." Serv cut the link, "Little paranoid, aren't they?"

"Trigger happy would be a better way of putting it." Cairo called up the ships war-book program on the screen attached to the arm of his chair, "Pair of Stingray light fighters. Not exactly the most threatening C.A.P. I've ever seen, but we are supposed to be a harmless merchant transport."

"You going to take the Tin Solders out of the box?"

"No; we're leave them where they are. If we can pull this off without arousing any suspicion, so much the better."

"Expecting Wobblies?"

"There's probably a planetary administrator, maybe some militia guards, but I doubt there's any Mech's: they'd be needed on the front line."

"Even with a rouge Warship loos in the Chaos March?"

"And what good is a BattleMech against a Warship? Hell; I could order Leroux to glass the city from orbit if I wanted to."

"You know, sir, there are times when I don't know if you're joking, or telling the truth."

"There are times when I don't known myself."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Morningstar Spaceport  
__Devil's Rock  
__Free Worlds League_

Cairo pulled at the collar of the civilian shirt he was dressed in, making sure that the sub-vocal communicator was in place. He felt ill at ease without the weight of a side arm on his hip, but the jacket he wore was loos enough to hide his Kukri in the small of his back.

The heavy, curved blade felt like an old friend.

Major Akuma stood on the gantry above the cargo bay doors, dressed as a tech. Most of the people in the room were members of her elite strike force, while others were crewmembers, doing their jobs to keep any prying eyes from noticing anything wrong.

Cairo knew for a fact that three of the cargo crates behind him concealed snipers, while a forth, larger container held a point of armoured elementals.

The huge metal door cracked open with a slight hiss of equalising pressure, blowing arid air across Cairo's face as he slipped on his mirrored sunglasses and stepped out onto the landing pad.

The cruel heat of midday beat down relentlessly, making the air shimmer. Cairo could feel the sweat start to bead on his forehead as he started towards the nearby hover car that carried the port officials.

Two men in simple uniforms stood beside the grounded transport, SMG's slung under their arms, within easy reach. Cairo resisted the urge to smile, knowing hat both men would be killed the instant they went for their weapons.

"Captain Fillion?" A tall, balding man stepped out of the shade.

"No, I am Mr Johnson, ship's master." Cairo shook his head, doing his best to sound friendly, "I own the _Firefly_, but lack the skills needed to fly her."

"I had hoped that you would have a better cover story than that, Mr Cairo." The Stranger smiled, "I am Administrator Brody Hazen, formally Star Colonel Brody Hazen of Clan Jade Falcon. I was captured by ComStar on Tukayyid and made a bondsman. When my bondsmaster sided with Word of Blake, I was forced to go with him. Now I am the senior Word of Blake Administrator for this planet."

"And you heard about my little day-trip to Titan, quaff?"

"Aff; it was mention in a resent dispatch."

"So, how are we going to do this? You kill me; my people will raze this entire planet. You just let me go, Word of Blake will probably do the same. Any chance you would offer me hegira? We only came here for supplies."

"I would be failing in my duty if I did not offer at least some resistance, so I will allow you to fight me in a trial of possession for the supplies you require. If you win, you may take them and go. If I win, then I gain the honour of being the man who stopped the much feared Angel of Death."

"Excuse me?"

"Word of your exploits have spread: there are those in Word of Blake, those who are more extremist in their views, who consider you to be the literal personification of Death. Aside from Delvin Stone, you are the most hated and feared enemy of Blake."

"I am only human."

"I know that, but some believe that you are more. Thus, defeating you in ingle combat will, shake them a little."

"That sounds almost treasonous, Administrator Brody Hazen."

"I have no love or Word of Blake: I follow my orders, as is my duty."

"So, how do you want to settle this?"

"Single combat in BattleMechs, as is right."

"You know, I had hoped to avoid fighting today."

"Hope can be a dangers thing."

"Hope is a good thing, and it never dies."

"If I defeat you, it will be by killing you."

"That's the way these things tend to go." Cairo glanced across the landing field to the sparse grassland beyond, "Over there should do it. Shall we say, one hour?"

"An hour it is."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Cairo felt ill at ease: although he'd had plenty of time to practise in a simulator, he hadn't actually taken his new HGN-736 _Highlander_: the Mech had been assigned to him by Clearwater just before his hurried departure from Tharkad. The Mech had been selected because it packed considerable firepower, while also carrying the C3i system that allowed it to share information with other units.

In a lance-on-lance engagement, the system would give Cairo and his people an edge, but in a one-on-one duel, it was 2.5-tons of dead weight.

Gripping the two joysticks tightly, Cairo started the lumbering Mech forward, allowing himself to slowly get the feel of the _Highlander_. He would have preferred a more flexible and familiar _Templar_, but there had been none available.

The twin cargo bay doors opened once more, bright, unrelenting sunlight washed across the pale ivory paint. Not one single marking blemished the surface of the _Highlander_, making it stand out like a mobile statue carved out of alabaster.

Cairo remembered Hazen telling him that Word of Blake considered him the Angel of Death. He remembered that Death, one of the four horseman of the apocalypse, supposable road a pale horse. He could just about remember a quote from the Bible, and muttered it under his breath as he started across the landing field towards the chosen battleground:

"_And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him…_"

**TBC…**


End file.
